JP2009174845A - Gun sight reticle having adjustable sight mark for bullet drop compensation - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a gun sight reticle (a shooting sight focusing plate), particularly, a gun sight reticle with bullet drop compensation. <P>SOLUTION: The gun sight reticle comprises a plurality of BDC sight marks 54-60 which are perpendicularly installed below a central sighting sign 52. To correct factors of a specified gun, a specified type of a bullet and environmental conditions including a temperature, humidity and an altitude, the BDC sight marks 54-60 in relation to the central sighting sign 52 can be adjusted. A shooter can adjust the BDC sight marks 54-60 so that the BDC sight marks 54-60 correspond to accurate sighting positions of targets with different distances more accurately. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a gun sight reticle (shooting sight focusing plate), and more particularly to a gun sight reticle for bullet drop correction.

  Gun sites for long range guns such as rifles and short range guns such as short-range guns (muzzle-loaders) and shotguns, especially It is common to use telephoto gunsites (also called “scopes”). In either type of gun, the projectile follows the parabolic trajectory. The specific trajectory depends on both the gun and the projectile. Experienced archers know that when aiming at a target, the projectile trajectory and the distance to the target must be considered. Depending on the distance to the target, it may be necessary to aim over the target so that the projectile hits the intended target.

  Gunsite with aiming point (also called “sight mark”) in addition to the center aiming point formed by the central horizontal hairline and the center vertical hairline forming an aiming point at the center of the reticle to assist the shooter It is known to provide Typically, these conventional reticles, known as bullet drop compensation reticles, have a plurality of aiming points formed by alignment to a plurality of intersections located at a predetermined distance below the center aiming point. Have. These bullet drop correction reticles have an additional horizontal hairline at a specified distance below the central horizontal hairline to form an additional aiming point where the additional horizontal hairline intersects the central vertical hairline. See, for example, US Pat. No. 5,920,995 and US Pat. No. 6,591,537. The disclosures of US Pat. No. 5,920,995 and US Pat. No. 6,591,537 are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

  US Pat. No. 7,171,775, entitled “Gun Light Reticle Haven Opening Area for Bullet Drop Compensation”, is a bullet descent correction aiming point. Discloses a reticle defined by an open area, for example a circular area surrounded by indicia. The open aiming region is advantageous because there are no markings at the aiming point, so that the target is visible to the shooter. The open aiming region is arranged at a fixed position below the center aiming point, like the crosshair type bullet drop correction aiming point of the above two patents. The disclosure of US Pat. No. 7,171,775 is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Prior to using a gun having a scope with a bullet drop compensation reticle, the shooter typically adjusts the scope. In particular, the scope includes an adjustment mechanism for adjusting the vertical and horizontal position of the scope. These adjustment mechanisms are adjusted so that the projectile fired from the gun hits a target at a known distance (eg, 100 yards or 200 yards) when the reticle's center aim is aligned with the target. The This process is considered a “calibration” process, where the bullet drop correction aiming point is located at a fixed position vertically below the central aiming point, eg, a first bullet drop compensation (BDC) aiming point. Is located at a first predetermined distance immediately below the central aiming point, and the second BDC aiming point is centered so that the second BDC aiming point is directly below the first BDC aiming point. Placed below the point by a second predetermined distance (longer than the first predetermined distance), etc. After the scope has been calibrated in this way, the shooter moves from the shooter to the first The first BDC aiming point can be positioned at a target at a distance of (e.g., 300 yards), and the target at a second, farther distance (e.g., 400 yards) from the shooter It can be positioned in the BDC aiming point, and so on.
US Pat. No. 5,920,995 US Pat. No. 6,591,537 US Pat. No. 7,171,775

  However, since projectile flight is affected by many factors, a BDC aiming point with a fixed position below the center aiming point is at a predetermined distance even after the scope is calibrated using the center aiming point. It is just an approximation of the correct aiming point for the target. For example, each gun and each type of projectile has its own projectile flight characteristics. In addition, environmental factors such as altitude, temperature and humidity affect the trajectory of the bullet. Thus, typically a skilled shooter will learn through experience with his gun where the correct aiming point exists for targets located at various distances from the shooter.

  According to an aspect of the present invention, the gunsite reticle includes a plurality of adjustable aiming marks positioned vertically below the center aiming mark. The shooter can adjust the position of the BDC aiming mark so that the BDC aiming mark can more accurately correspond to the correct aiming position for targets at various distances.

  According to a preferred embodiment, the adjustable aiming marks are movable aiming marks arranged in a substantially straight vertical line located directly below the central aiming mark, the aiming marks being individually moved. obtain. For example, a scope with a gunsite reticle can include a turret with one adjustment mechanism for each of the BDC aiming marks. Thus, the shooter can adjust the vertical position of the BDC aiming mark by moving the aiming mark using the corresponding adjustment mechanism.

  According to a preferred embodiment, each of these movable aiming marks includes a corresponding horizontal wind-compensation line extending from opposite sides of the movable aiming mark and moving with the movable aiming mark. Preferably each of these horizontal drift correction lines has a ruled line spaced along its length.

  According to some embodiments, the movable aiming marks include indicia surrounding the corresponding aiming area. For example, the indicia can be in the form of a circle so that the shooter can see the target without any indicia (such as a hairline) that interferes with the sight of the shooter's target. According to a preferred embodiment, the indicia is in the form of a circle.

  The adjustable aiming mark can be defined by various structures. According to one embodiment, each adjustable aiming mark is a movable aiming mark that includes a movable member having an aiming mark defining portion. According to another embodiment, the adjustable aiming mark includes a plurality of light emitting elements, and the user selects which of the light emitting elements should be activated for a particular target distance and / or bullet type To adjust the device.

  Typically, the gunsite reticle has a housing, an objective lens located near the first end of the housing, and an eyepiece located near the second end of the housing. Part of the site. The Gunsight reticle is placed in the housing between the objective lens and the eyepiece.

  The present invention will be described with reference to the drawings of exemplary embodiments in which like reference numerals indicate like elements.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a telephoto gunsite 10 to which the present invention is applied is shown attached to the rifle 12 by a suitable mount 35. The gunsite 10 includes an objective lens element 13 disposed in the front, an eyepiece lens element 14 disposed in the rear, an interposed erecting lens element 15, and the objective lens element 13 and the erecting lens element 15. Formed by a tubular housing 11 that houses a reticle 40 disposed therebetween. In the case of a variable focal length scope or zoom scope, a positionally adjustable magnifying lens 17 is associated with the erecting lens element 15. The outside of the housing 11 may be equipped with a rotationally movable feature (eg, a rotatable knob) to adjust focus, magnification, drift and elevation. In the illustrated embodiment, the first knob 36A is used to adjust the left and right, or horizontal position, of the scope 10, and the second knob 36B is used to adjust the top and bottom, or vertical position, of the scope 10, And in the following, a third set of adjustment features 38A-38D, described in more detail, is used to adjust the vertical position of each BDC aiming mark. These various lens elements can be a single lens or a lens group.

  The reticle 40 is a circular, planar transparent panel or disk (disc) attached in the housing 11 in a relationship orthogonal to the optical axis or optical line of the sight 18 of the scope 10. The reticle 40 is positioned between the objective lens element 13 and the erecting lens element 15 at a position considered to be the front focal plane of the optical system in the housing. The reticle 40 includes fine lines, i.e., hairline indicia, described below.

  As shown in FIG. 3, one reticle 40 a to which the present invention can be applied includes a central horizontal straight hairline 44 and a central vertical straight hairline 42 that intersect at right angles with each other at the center aiming point 52. The portion 46 of the central vertical hairline 42 disposed below the central horizontal hairline 44 includes a plurality of BDC aiming marks 54, 56, 58, 60. The first aiming mark 54 is located closest to the lower part of the center aiming point 52. The second aim mark 56 is disposed below the first aim mark 54. The third aim mark 58 is disposed below the second aim mark 56. The fourth aim mark 60 is disposed below the third aim mark 58. Each of the BDC aiming marks 54-60 may move in the vertical direction as described below.

  As described above, the user typically calibrates the center aim point 52 so that the bullet hits the target when the center aim point 52 is set to a target of a known distance. For example, by making a series of firings while making corrective adjustments of the scope 10 by adjusting the knobs 36A, 36B, the shooting system (gun, specific bullet type and gunsite) can be crossed hairlines 42, 44. It is “zeroed-in” so that the position of the target (ie, the central aiming point 52) on the target coincides with the bullet impact point. For long-range guns such as high performance rifles, the gun is aimed at 200 yards so that the bullet fired by the rifle hits the target when the reticle's central aiming point 52 is set on the target at the time of aiming. Can. For a short range gun such as a front gun (muzzle loader) or shotgun, the focusing distance can be 100 yards.

  Unlike known reticles, BDC reticles according to aspects of the present invention provide BDCs with respect to a central aiming point 52 to correct for factors such as specific guns, specific types of bullets, and environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity, and altitude. Allows aiming marks 54-60 to be adjusted. By providing adjustable BDC aiming marks 54-60 that can move in the vertical direction (eg, along the lower portion 46 of the center vertical hairline 42), the BDC marks are in a manner similar to that described above with respect to the center aiming point 52. It can also be “aimed”. Of course, when aiming each of the BDC aiming marks 54-60, the target will be positioned sequentially away from the reticle. For example, if the central aiming point 52 is aimed at 200 yards, the first aiming mark 54 is aimed at a target located at 300 yards and the second aiming mark 56 is aimed at a target located at 400 yards. Aimed, the third aiming mark 58 could be aimed at a target located at 500 yards, and the fourth aiming mark 60 could be aimed at a target located at 600 yards.

  Various arrangements of BDC aiming marks that can be adjusted in the vertical direction are possible. FIG. 6 shows a first embodiment of the present invention.

  When the knob 38A of FIG. 6 is rotated, the fourth aiming mark 60 of FIG. 3 moves. In particular, rotating the knob 38A causes the pinion 106 to rotate via a shaft 138 attached to the knob 38A. The pinion 106 is engaged with the teeth 104 of the movable member 100 and moves the member 100 in the vertical direction. Therefore, the aiming mark 60 can be set at an arbitrary vertical position. The set position is maintained by teeth 139 on the shaft 138 engaging a leaf spring 140. Member 100 is also attached to a spring 141 that biases downward in FIG. This removes any slack between the small gear 106 and the teeth 104. This also keeps the position of the aiming mark 60 stable after receiving an impact from the firing of a gun.

  This time, the movement of the third aiming mark 58 will be explained. The knob 38 </ b> B rotates the shaft 142 that rotates the female screw 143. Rotating the female screw 143 moves the male screw 144 engaged with the female screw 143 in the vertical direction. The male screw 144 is fixed to the arm 145 of the movable member 146 and moves the movable member 146 in the vertical direction. Thus, the aiming mark 58 can be set at any desired vertical position. The set position is maintained by teeth 147 on shaft 142 that engage leaf spring 148. The arm 145 is also attached to a spring 149 that biases upward in FIG. This removes any slack between the internal thread 143 and the external thread 144. This also keeps the position of the aiming mark 58 stable after receiving an impact from the firing of a gun.

  To move the aim mark 56, the knob 38C is turned, which turns the shaft 150 and rotates the internal thread 151. Rotating the female screw 151 moves the male screw 152 engaged with the female screw 151 in the vertical direction. The male screw 152 is fixed to the arm 153 of the movable member 154, and moves the movable member 154 in the vertical direction. Thus, the aiming mark 56 can be set at any desired vertical position. The set position is maintained by teeth 163 on the shaft 150 that engage the leaf spring 148. The arm 153 is also attached to a spring 155 that biases upward in FIG. This removes any slack between the internal thread 151 and the external thread 152. This also keeps the position of the aiming mark 56 stable after receiving an impact from the firing of a gun.

  To move the first aiming mark 54, the knob 38D is turned, which rotates the shaft 156 and the pinion 157. The pinion 157 is engaged with the teeth 158 on the movable member 159 and moves the member 159 in the vertical direction. Accordingly, the aiming mark 54 can be set to any desired vertical position. The set position is maintained by the teeth 161 on the shaft 156 engaging the leaf spring 162. Member 159 is also attached to a spring 160 that biases downward in FIG. This removes any slack between the small gear 157 and the teeth 159. This also keeps the position of the aiming mark 54 stable after receiving an impact from the firing of a gun.

  The central reticle 40 in FIG. 6 is fixed and not movable. In this embodiment, the reticle 40 is positioned at the first focal plane, but it is also possible to position the reticle 40 at the second focal plane, that is, behind the lenses 15, 17 in front of the lens 14 of FIG. It is.

  FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of a reticle 40b to which the present invention is applied. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, each BDC aiming mark is an open aiming area (instead of a solid mark), and each BDC aiming mark also includes a current drift line 70 having a ruled line 72. In particular, each of the aiming marks is an open aiming region surrounded by a circle-shaped indicia. Accordingly, open aiming areas 54a, 56a, 58a, 60a are provided. Unlike the embodiment of FIG. 3, the central vertical hairline 42 does not include a portion disposed below the central horizontal hairline 44. The structure for adjusting the position of the open aiming regions 54a-60a in the vertical direction is the same as that described with respect to FIG.

  Now an electronic embodiment will be described. This embodiment uses aiming marks that are implemented electronically instead of physically movable aiming marks for use in bullet drop correction. In this embodiment, one of the plurality of bullet drop correction aiming marks may be activated based on the distance to the target and other factors such as the bullet type and / or environmental factors such as altitude, temperature and humidity.

  FIG. 9 shows a reticle 240 that implements this embodiment. Reticle 240 includes a central horizontal straight hairline 244 similar to hairline 44 described above and a central vertical straight hairline 242 similar to hairline 42 described above. The hairlines 242 and 244 intersect at the central aiming point 252. The lower part 246 of the central vertical straight hairline 242 is provided with a plurality of bullet drop correction aiming marks 256a-x. Although FIG. 9 shows five bullet drop correction aiming marks, typically more than five selectable aiming marks will be provided. The greater the number of marks provided, the higher the adjustability of the bullet drop correction aiming mark.

  In the electronic embodiment associated with FIGS. 7-9, one or more of the plurality of aiming marks 256a-x can be selectively activated to function as an aiming mark for a particular distance. For example, using a calibration procedure similar to that previously described with respect to the mechanical embodiment, the user can determine which of the aiming marks 256a-x is appropriate for a particular distance and bullet type, for example under current atmospheric conditions. And select a mark for this bullet for future use. Using this calibration procedure, the user selects a plurality of different marks of marks 256a-x for a particular bullet and different distances (eg, 100 yards, 200 yards, 300 yards, 400 yards), and these The selected mark can be stored in memory. Then, when using the scope, the user will be able to activate the scope so that a preselected mark is activated for this bullet type (eg, to fire). The user can pre-select different marks for different types of bullets, and entering a bullet type activates a pre-selected set of marks from the marks 256a-x for this selected bullet type. Alternatively, only one of aiming marks 256a-x could be activated by user input of bullet type and target distance. The input of the target distance could be done by a user selecting a distance or by a distance meter included in a scope where the distance meter automatically enters a determined distance to a specific target.

  The plurality of aiming marks 256a-x can be provided by any number of different structures. According to one example, a plurality of holes may be provided in the metal layer forming the lower portion 246 of the central vertical straight hairline 242 and an end of one optical fiber may be disposed in each of these holes (each hole being One optical fiber is provided, and these holes are arranged in a vertical line). The aim mark defined by the hole is activated (illuminated) by supplying light to the input end of the optical fiber associated with the hole. One advantage of this structure is that the optical fiber (except the output end of the optical fiber) can be hidden behind the opaque portion of the hairline 246 where no holes are located. Furthermore, the holes in the hairline allow the user to see the target without any obstruction (giving an aiming area as in the embodiment of FIG. 4). Since the output end of the optical fiber is transparent, it does not disturb the user's field of view.

  According to another embodiment, a series of vertically arranged, e.g., LEDs or electroluminescent elements may be provided to form bullet drop correction aiming marks 256a-x. Other implementations are possible.

  Now, an embodiment in which a single bullet drop correction aiming mark is illuminated at any particular moment will be described in connection with FIGS. FIG. 7 shows the rifle 12 with a telephoto gunsite 210 having an electronic bullet drop correction aiming mark as shown in FIG. The scope includes an internal control circuit 270 that receives inputs described below and controls which (one or more) of the plurality of bullet drop correction aiming marks 256a-x are to be activated. Control knobs 250, 260 described below are provided on the top surface of the scope 210.

  When dial 250 is set to position N and / or when dial 260 is in the OFF position, none of the aiming marks 256a-x are illuminated. The dials 250, 260 can incorporate an encoder or resistive element that outputs a variable signal to the control circuit 270 based on the position of these dials.

  According to one embodiment, a different set of aiming marks is stored in advance for each bullet type. That is, for each type of bullet, a set of aiming marks (selected from the available aiming marks 256a-x) are set for different distances (eg, 100 yards, 200 yards, 300 yards, 400 yards). The user selects the bullet type by using the dial 250 to select either d1, d2, d3 or d4, and the user selects the distance to the target using the dial 260 (also Dial 260 may also include indicia identifying each selectable target distance for each of the marks not labeled in FIG. Thus, based on data previously stored in memory (such data can be stored at the factory or entered by the user based on the calibration process described above), the specific bullet type and the distance to the target A suitable aiming mark among the plurality of aiming marks 256a-x is illuminated. This embodiment allows different aiming marks to be illuminated for different bullet types even though the distance to the target is the same. This embodiment thus allows more accurate aiming than existing systems that provide a single bullet drop correction mark for a particular target distance.

  Although the invention has been described with reference to its preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these embodiments or configurations. The present invention is intended to cover various modifications and arrangements. While the various elements of these exemplary embodiments are shown in various combinations and configurations, other combinations and configurations including more, fewer, or just one element are within the spirit and scope of the present invention. It is in.

It is a side view of the telescope which can apply embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the internal components of the variable power telescope shown in FIG. 1. 1 is a plan view of a gunsite reticle having a movable BDC aiming mark according to one embodiment of the invention. FIG. It is a top view of the gun sight reticle which has a movable aim mark by a 2nd embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a detailed perspective view of a portion including adjustment features of the telescope shown in FIG. 1. It is a disassembled perspective view of the aim mark adjustment mechanism by one Embodiment. 1 is a side view of a telescope according to an electronically implemented embodiment. FIG. FIG. 8 is a top view of the sighting device of FIG. 7 showing a control dial. It is a figure which shows the reticle of embodiment of FIG.

Claims (21)

A central horizontal straight hairline,
A center aiming mark disposed substantially in the center of the central horizontal straight hairline;
A plurality of adjustable aiming marks located vertically below the central horizontal straight hairline;
Gunsight reticle with   The gunsite reticle of claim 1, wherein the plurality of adjustable aiming marks are movable.   The gunsite reticle of claim 2, wherein the plurality of movable aiming marks are arranged in a substantially straight vertical line.   The gunsite reticle according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of movable aiming marks are arranged immediately below the central aiming mark.   The gunsite reticle according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of movable aiming marks are arranged in a substantially straight vertical line immediately below the central aiming mark.   The gunsite reticle of claim 2, wherein the plurality of movable aiming marks can move individually.   The gunsite reticle of claim 2, wherein each of the movable aiming marks includes a corresponding horizontal drift correction line that extends from opposite sides of the movable aiming mark and moves with the movable aiming mark.   The gunsite reticle of claim 7, wherein each of the drift correction lines has a ruled line spaced along its length.   The gunsite reticle of claim 2, wherein each of the movable aiming marks includes an indicia surrounding a corresponding aiming area.   The gunsite reticle of claim 2, wherein each of the movable aiming marks includes a movable member having an aiming mark defining portion.   The gunsight reticle according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of movable aiming marks are movable in a vertical direction.   The gunsite reticle according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of movable aiming marks are movable in a vertical direction.   The gunsite reticle according to claim 6, wherein the plurality of movable aiming marks are movable in a vertical direction.   The gunsite reticle according to claim 8, wherein the plurality of movable aiming marks are movable in a vertical direction.   The gunsite reticle of claim 10, wherein the plurality of movable aiming marks are movable in a vertical direction.   The gunsite reticle of claim 1, wherein the plurality of adjustable aiming marks are a plurality of individually selectable light emitting elements.   A circuit for selecting one of the plurality of light emitting elements based on a distance to a target, the circuit further comprising allowing the light emitting element to be selected according to a specific target distance to be changed; The gunsite reticle according to claim 16.   The gunsite reticle of claim 17, wherein the circuit selects one of the plurality of light emitting elements based on a distance to a target and a bullet type.   The gunsite reticle of claim 16, further comprising a circuit that selects at least one of the plurality of light emitting elements based on a bullet type. A housing;
An objective lens disposed near the first end of the housing;
An eyepiece disposed near the second end of the housing;
A telescope gunsite reticle comprising: the gunsite reticle according to claim 1 disposed in the housing between the objective lens and the eyepiece. A housing;
An objective lens disposed near the first end of the housing;
An eyepiece disposed near the second end of the housing;
A gunsite reticle disposed in the housing between the objective lens and the eyepiece;
Telephoto gun site with
The gunsite reticle is
A central horizontal straight hairline,
A center aiming mark disposed substantially in the center of the central horizontal straight hairline;
A plurality of adjustable aiming marks located vertically below the central horizontal straight hairline;
An adjustment mechanism disposed on the housing and operable by a user to adjust the adjustable aiming mark;
With a telephoto gun site.

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